Coal is a fossil fuel formed from dead plant matter over millions of years due to heat and pressure. Coal is an important fuel that helps us to cook, produce electricity, produce steel, etc. The major coal products are coke, coal tar, and coal gas, which is used for different purposes. We will also understand how petroleum is extracted from the ground and how it is refined further in the chapter.

Coal is a type of fuel used in various places. In ancient times, it was used in railway engines to produce steam to run the engine. Nowadays it is used in thermal power stations to generate electricity. Coal is processed in the industry to get some useful products such as coke, coal tar, and coal gas.

Coal is extracted by mining from the ground. and coal gas is obtained from the coal by the  Fischer-Tropsch process and gets coal tar as a by-product. Coke is obtained from the distilled distillation process.

Petroleum is a mixture of petrol, diesel, petroleum gas, paraffin wax, lubricating oil, etc. Refining petroleum is the process by which different constituents of petroleum are separated. This process takes place in a petroleum refinery.